Moments I Love / Paige Evans Design Team

Hey, friends! Happy Friday!  I’m super excited to share my first layout using the beautiful Turn the Page collection for the Paige Evans Design Team! I decided to use a fun cut file to create some fun angles. I found this cut file in the Just Nick store and I stretched and turned it to fit half of my page. I created a diagonal design on white cardstock and then used several papers from Turn the Page to back the open spots. I chose papers with a solid color effect as well as some with patterns. I chose two color photos of my daughter that matched the collection perfectly and embellished around them. I used both clear and white gesso on the background before adding some watercolors and gelatos in matching colors. And I used a variety of the new goodies all around the photos!

Before adding any embellishments, I machine stitched around each background square using white thread. Once I had my photos where I wanted them, I fussy cut a few butterflies from Paper 04 and combined them with some Chipboard Stickers and clear stickers from the Sticker Book. The colors are just so pretty, and I love the different textures of mixing and matching paper with chipboard.  I love the texture from the cut file, too.

Above the photo, I used a fussy cut speech bubble from Paper 21. There are some really beautiful phrases on them and this one worked perfectly. I added more stickers here from the Sticker Book, a few Puffy Stickers, and another Chipboard Sticker.

Under the photos I placed a beautiful floral die cut from the Ephemera Die Cuts as well as some tangled thread. Aren’t those tiny Puffy Sticker flowers so cute?

For my title, I combined a die cut from the Ephemera Die Cuts and some of the floral alpha stickers from the Sticker Book. I traced around the letters with a metallic gold pen to make them stand out a little more. I added another sticker and a cute butterfly before writing a few lines of journaling.

I added a bit of foam under the photos to raise them up.  This creates some depth once you add embellishments under it.  Seriously every little piece in this collection is so pretty!

Here's one more close-up of the backed cut file and stitching just because it turned out so gorgeous!

I hope this inspires you to get your hands on this new collection!  It's beautiful, for real! Check out my process video if you'd like to see how I made this layout :)

Thanks so much for visiting me!  Have a wonderful weekend!

This Makes Me So Happy / Cocoa Vanilla Studio

Hello friends!  I have a new layout to share today for Cocoa Vanilla Studio.  I combined a few collections on this page including Love Always and Wild At Heart.  I wanted to see how the florals from both collections would look, and I love how it turned out!  I love using watercolors to create a background that pulls all the colors together.  I think the light and dark pinks look so pretty mixed with the light oranges and corals.  I started with this beautiful black and white dotted patterned paper from Love Always.  I coated a lot of it with white acrylic paint to fade out some of the circles.  This makes the background less busy and helps the photo and embellishments to stand out while still leaving some of the dots scattered around the edges.  I did a lot of fussy cutting and used one of the exclusive floral cut files as well.

I used a few different shades of pink and coral watercolors on the background.  I used the plastic packaging technique as well as a brush.  It did take some time to fussy cut all those flowers, but the end result is worth it.  I tucked the cut file in as a layer and added some tangled thread.  I also added some foam under my photo to raise it up off the page.

Again, I mixed collections here.  I used a Rubber Charm from Wild At Heart, and the striped banner piece is from the Love Always Accessory Sticker Sheet.  I added in a few sequins from my stash that matched the mint leaves.

I used this piece as my title.  It’s from a 3×4 cut apart piece from a Love Always paper.  I love that it’s a dark grey color and matches the photo.  I layered a few more flowers here, did some stitching and wrote my journaling.

I fussy cut this circle from a Love Always paper and added a few flowers to the left of it.  I overlapped the watercolor so it blended in and looked like part of the background instead of just a random piece that I just stuck down.  I also stitched through it and topped it with some sequins.

I created a small floral cluster down at the bottom left area with more fussy cut flowers and tangled thread.  I used a few more Wild At Heart Chipboard Stickers here as well.

After the pink and coral watercolor dried, I splattered in some light aqua and silver ink sprays.  I also added in a few more pieces here.  The Chipboard Stickers are from Wild At Heart, and the “captured” sticker is from Love Always.

I hope this inspires you to do a little mixing and matching and see what you can come up with :)  Here's my process video if you'd like to see how I created this.

Thanks so much for stopping in...have a great day!

Sunshine Love / Bella Blvd

Happy Wednesday, friends!  Today I'm sharing a new layout for Bella Blvd.  I started off this week's Pinterest Inspired projects over on the Bella blog.  I have found so many fun inspirational images over the years, and I was really excited when I found this bright and festive diamond-shaped design.  As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to recreate it on a layout.

emmajanenation.com

I used the Popsicles and Pandas collection for this.  It's full of fun summer colors and patterns.  What I love about this design is that it allows for a lot of different patterned papers to be used in small pieces.  I mixed and matched lots of the 6x8 Paper Pad papers combining patterns & solids.  I used a square punch to create all the squares and then punched out two photos of my daughter walking around our pool.  It was fun working with such small photos like this.  It gave me lots of room for embellishing.

I used a light pink cardstock as my background.  I added some white gesso before applying some watercolors using plastic packaging.  I used the Illustrated Faith Shanna's Favorite Watercolors, and the colors turned out so pretty.  I glued down all the squares and then machine stitched with white thread around the edges of each one.  I ruffled up the edges to create some dimension.  I added a bit of tissue paper and foam under the photos to give them some lift and then started embellishing.  I used a few cute flamingos from the Paper Pieces as well as some Fundamentals Stickers.

I kept most of the embellishments on an angle.  I used some Illustrated Faith Cardstock Stickers, some Puffy Heart Stickers, Enamel Dots and Ciao Chipboard to complete my title. I used a light blue gelato to add some color to the chipboard letters.  I smudged it on with my finger.

Here are some of the gorgeous puffy stickers in the collection.  I used that adorable flamingo.  These title stickers are the Wonky Alpha Puffy Stickers in Cotton Candy.  They matched the light pinks in the layout perfectly.

I created a cute little cloud cluster at the top right combining some of the Popsicles & Pandas Paper Pieces & Puffy Stickers as well as some of the Illustrated Faith Cardstock Stickers.  I layered them all together and added a bit of foam and thread.

Here's one more close-up.  I really love how the texture and dimension looks here, and that super cute watermelon puffy sticker is my favorite!

I hope you are inspired by this project and the Pinterest image!  It was fun to put together.  You can check out my process video if you'd like to see how I created this page.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Have a great Hump Day :D

Fantastic Fun / Hip Kit Club

Happy Monday, friends!  I have a very bright and tropical layout to share today for Hip Kit Club.  I used the incredibly stunning 2017 July Hip Kits.  They make it so easy to create gorgeous Summer layouts!  I couldn’t be more excited about that  

For this page, I started with the big pineapple Project Life card from the Project Life Kit.  I let it dictate where my photo would go to begin my design process.  Since the pineapple was already cut in half, I let it run off the right side of the page and overlapped it onto my photo.  The rest of the page stemmed from that placement.  I used one of the June exclusive cut files…that gorgeous hibiscus flower and leaves.  I cut it on white cardstock, coated it with gesso, and then used the Prima Watercolor Confections from the May Color Kit to jazz it up.  I used one of the Dear Lizzy papers as my background (available in the Main Kit and Paper Kit).  I added white gesso to the center area and then went to town with embellishing.

I used so many of the beautiful exclusives to embellish with.  I used some of the epoxy stickers from the Main Kit, and puffy stickers and chipboard stickers from the Embellishment Kit.  I also used some of the Amy Tangerine die cuts, including two of the pineapples.  I used a few of the Echo Park brads as well.

Flamingos!!  I can’t get enough of them lately.  This one is included on the exclusive chipboard stickers, and so is that blue banner piece.  I love the contrast of these gorgeous colors against those pineapples.

 I can’t say enough wonderful things about dimension.  It’s so easy to create it to get more of a 3D look on your pages.  The big die cut curled up once it dried, and that is perfect for leaves.  I also added some adhesive foam under it for more lift.

I used some Project Life cards as layers under the photo.  I wish I had more of this gorgeous pineapple!  It’s just gorgeous.  I added in two exclusive chipboard speech bubbles here as well.  I can’t get  over how perfectly everything matches!

Here’s the bottom area below the photo.  I added in some tangled thread, a puffy sticker, a clear Echo Park epoxy sticker, some puffy dots and a chipboard flower.

This is truly one of my favorite Hip Kit layouts!  These kits make it impossible to create a bad page.  Everything is just so pretty, and it all coordinates so well.  I hope you are inspired by it!  I have a process video if you’d like to watch this page in action.

Thanks so much for visiting me today...have a great day!

XOXO / Thermoweb

Hello again, friends!  I hope you're having a great weekend :)  I have another layout to share for Thermoweb featuring some iCraft Deco Foil Transfer Sheets.  I can’t get enough of the beautiful shine of the foil. I used the Transfer Sheets in Aqua, Spring Green and Amethyst Watercolor.  To make the color shine, I used a white background and a black & white photo.  I used a whimsy floral cut file from The Cut Shoppe and colored them with the Deco Foil Transfer Sheets.  I used two different products to apply the foil.  I used the iCraft Easy Cut Adhesive Sheets and the Deco Foil Liquid Adhesive.

To create the Amethyst Watercolor and Aqua florals, I used the iCraft Easy Cut Adhesive Sheets.  I simply stuck the Sheet to my Cameo sticky mat and cut the shapes out.  I peeled off one side and then stuck it to a sheet of Gina K. Designs Premium 8.5×11 White Cardstock.  I peeled off the other backing and then pressed the foil on top of it, foil side up.  I pressed and smoothed it down with my finger and then peeled it off.  The result is gorgeous!  To create the Spring Green florals, I went a different route.  I cut those on some scrap textured white cardstock.  After peeling them off the mat, I used some of the Deco Foil Liquid Adhesive on them.  I used my finger to smudge it completely over the die cut.  Once it dried, I pressed the foil over it and then peeled it back.  Since the adhesive is liquid, the foiled areas are more textured and sketchy.  It’s a totally different look, and I really love the contrast.

I did the same steps with the iCraft Easy Cut Adhesive Sheets to create the Aqua floral and the same steps with the Deco Foil Liquid Adhesive to create the Spring Green floral.  Look how pretty they turned out!  On my background, I used some coordinating colors of blue, green and purple ink sprays.  I used some plastic packaging to smoosh the color around and then used the nozzles to splatter the ink.

Die cuts like this are so fun to create with because of the dimension.  The ends of florals like this curl up so they look like they’re coming right off the page.  I added a blue bit of paper behind my photo as well as some tissue paper and a bit of foam.  I finished the page off with some purple sequins.  I used the iCraft Mixed Media Adhesive to glue everything down.

I embellished the layout with some fun glitter and metallic stickers from Me & My Big Ideas that I keep on my desk.  These matched the colors on the page perfectly.

I love the dimension and shine here...the shine and texture always looks so cool with the Deco Foils.
I added some sequins from my stash to match.

I created a fun little cluster down at the bottom using some foam stickers and more MAMBI stickers.  My journaling fit nicely underneath that, and I also added a bit of machine stitching with a silver metallic thread.

I hope this inspires you to try out some of the Deco Foils with the Easy Cut Adhesive Sheets.  The possibilities are endless, and the results are always so beautiful.  I have a process video if you'd like to see how these products work.

Thanks so much for stopping in, and have a nice day :)

Lovely / Precious Remembrance Shop DT

Hey there, and Happy Thursday!  I'm back today to share my newest layout for Precious Remembrance Shop.  I used three different stamps sets for this page:  Date Stamp Set, New Day Stamp Set and This Moment Stamp Set.

Date Stamp Set

New Day Stamp Set

This Moment Stamp Set

I used up some of my stash for this page, and I really love how it turned out.  I wanted to do some heat embossing on my background, so I pulled the three circles from the New Day Stamp Set and used gold embossing powder on them.  I created my background using a wide strip of Dear Lizzy Documentary patterned paper and layering it over some white cardstock.  I covered a lot of the paper with white acrylic paint first.  I did the embossing once I decided where my photo was going to go.  After I did the embossing, I came in with some paints and sprays to jazz up the background and create a watercolor effect.  The fun thing about embossing is that it resists any liquid, so the color went on the areas in between the circles.

Look at how gorgeous these circles turned out!  You could do this technique with any of the stamps and any color powder.  I decided to embellish my layout with bits and pieces from the Fancy Pants Happy Place collection and the Simple Stories Life in Color collection.  My title is a black foam glitter sticker from Pinkfresh Studio.  I love how everything looks together with the gold stamped circles.

Here you can see all the layers I created by tucking in bits and pieces under and around the photo.  I also added some foam under all of it to raise it up off the page.  This creates such great dimension.  in addition to the packaging technique, I also used my brush and the nozzle to splatter the paint around the page.

I love layering things under the photo.  The fun embellishments in these collections made it easy to tuck bits and pieces in.  I added another This Moment Stamp Set stamp here.  I love the gold stitching, too!  I used my sewing machine here, and I'm so glad I did it...love the effect.

I used the This Moment Stamp Set here down at the bottom to create this fun cluster.  I first used a few stickers from Simple Stories and then stamped that label with the heart and the word “memories” under it.  I also used the Date Stamp Set here to add the date.  To finish this area off, I ran it through my sewing machine using metallic gold thread.

Here you can see my mishap with the embossing powder...haha.  It decided to stick to my background.  I just worked with it, and I actually like how it turned out.  Hey...you can't have too much gold sparkle, right? :D

I did more stamping above the photo using the phrase “This Moment” from the This Moment Stamp Set.  Those small sentiments aren’t just for cards; I love using them on my layouts like this.  They make the perfect little details.  Again, I added stitching along the grid paper for extra texture and shine.

Here's one more look at the gold beauty!  It looks kind of messy, but I like it.

I hope this inspires you to pull out your stamps and create a fun background with them.  And don’t shy away from using the smaller stamps on your pages, either!  Those little details can sometimes make the biggest difference.  I have a process video for you if you’d like to check it out.

Thank you so much for stopping by!  Have a great day!

Fabulous & Fun / Paige Evans Design Team

Hello again!  I'm back again today...this time to share my newest layout for the Paige Evans Design Team.  Our theme this week is BIG TITLES,which happens to be one of my favorite techniques :)  I used a lot of the Oh My Heart collection with a few bits and pieces from Take Me Away and Fancy Free. 

I started with Oh My Heart Paper 21 as my background.  I like that it's primarily white and makes for a good starting point.  I created the word "fabulous" in my Silhouette software using a scripty font, enlarged it, tilted it, and stretched it across the entire page.  After I cut it, I left the page on the sticky mat and coated a big portion of the paper with white acrylic paint. After I peeled the paper off the mat, I used Oh My Heart Paper 08 to back the open spaces. I love that yellow to pink gradient and it stands out nice and bright. I used some gelatos to add smoky color around the word and behind the photo. I also added a bit of ink sprays. I love using aqua and turquoise to create the illusion of water when I scrap a pool photo.

To really make the title pop off the page, I decided to glue coordinating embroidery thread around it. I love how it turned out! I like that it looks somewhat messy yet it outlines the title and adds great texture to the page. This is a great technique to try if you don’t have a lot of extra time to hand stitch but still want the look of fabric or thread on your page.

I added in Take Me Away Foam Phrase Thickers and three ampersands to finish off the title. I love the pop of gold here. The yellow ampersand is a Fancy Free Wood Veneer and the other two are die cuts from the Oh My Heart Ephemera Die Cuts and Take Me Away Ephemera Die Cuts. I used another Fancy Free Wood Veneer above the title. I also added in an Oh My Heart Puffy Sticker down by the journaling.

I love how layering and added thread to a layout creates such awesome depth and dimension. I added some foam under my photo to give that area some depth and added a fun Take Me Away Ephemera Die Cut right on top of it. That cute banner piece fits perfectly right there.

I used some beautiful Oh My Heart Ephemera Die Cut flowers as layers under the photo as well as some Oh My Heart Puffy Stickers. I went simple with the embellishments since the big title and fun photo are the main focus. I did use some blue tangled thread on both sides of the photo for an extra pop of color & texture.

I love when pieces from other collections match!  This wood veneer is from Fancy Free, and it was the perfect embellishment for this space.

Here's one final close-up of the right side of the photo.  I layered in more floral die cuts, puffy stickers and some tangled thread.

I hope this gives you some ideas to try for creating big titles.  If you're stuck for an idea, this technique helps a lot because it takes up a lot of room on the page.   Then you're limited as to where you can place your photo & embellishments.  For me, this helped the layout come together quicker, and I found that I didn't have to use as many tid bits since the title is the main element.

I do have a process video if you'd like to watch:

Thanks so much for stopping by again today...have a wonderful Tuesday!